Ricerc@Sapienza

To what extent old individuals are able to automatically shift their attention based on observed direction eye-gaze, and whether the emotional expression and age of the central face-cue modulate gaze cueing effects and preference acquisition was investigated. Thirty-nine 70-80 year old individuals completed a non- predictive gaze cueing task with happy, angry and neutral faces of old and young individuals gazing left or right. Targets were kitchen and garage objects and, at the end of the experiment, participants rated their preferences toward each target-object.

Spermatozoa are vulnerable to lack of energy and oxidative stress as a result of elevated levels of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, it is essential that appropriate nutrients are available during maturation. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of 6-month supplementation with carnitines and other micronutrients on sperm quality in 104 subjects with oligo- and/or astheno- and/or teratozoospermia with or without varicocele. Semen analyses were done at the beginning and end of the treatment.

Lifestyle and risk factors affect the development of diseases, cognitive
decline and loss of autonomy during ageing. In the Italian Smart Health
2.0 project, we developed the SmartAging program offering innovative ICT
solutions, grounded upon the Italian Telecom platform (“Nuvola Italian Home
Doctor”), to contrast cognitive decline and support “active” ageing. Specifically,
the SmartAging program includes tools for daily telemonitoring at subjects’
home of: (i) eating behaviour, (ii) physical exercise, (iii) tobacco consumption,

This paper investigates the impact of an exogenous increase in the legal retirement age on the firms’ propensity to provide welfare services voluntarily to their employees. To this purpose we exploit a unique dataset derived from the Employers and Employees Survey, conducted by the National Institute for Public Policies Analysis (Inapp) in 2015 on a large and representative sample of Italian firms.

This paper investigates the impact of an exogenous increase in the legal retirement age on the firms’
propensity to provide welfare services voluntarily to their employees. To this purpose we exploit a
unique information derived from the Rilevazione su Imprese e Lavoro (RIL), a survey conducted in
2015 on a large and representative sample of Italian firms. Applying different regression models we
show that firms which were forced to give up previously planned hirings because of the Law

Objectives. Recent studies have suggested that vitamin K may exert significant effects on the central nervous system. The present study investigates the relationship between vitamin K plasmatic levels and cognitive functions in elderly patients on oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT). Design. At the Thrombosis Centre of Haematology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 85 patients on OAT, aged between 75 and 92, were randomly enrolled in the study. Patients were on OAT with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs).

Background Chronic inflammation, changes in body composition, and declining physical function are hallmarks of the ageing process. The aim of the present study was to provide a preliminary characterisation of the relationship among these age-related phenomena via multivariate modelling.

Probiotics exert beneficial effects on host health through different mechanisms of action, such as production of antimicrobial substances, competition with pathogens, enhancement of host mucosal barrier integrity and immunomodulation. In the context of ageing, which is characterized by several physiological alterations leading to a low grade inflammatory status called inflammageing, evidences suggest a potential prolongevity role of probiotics. Unraveling the mechanisms underlying anti-ageing effects requires the use of simple model systems.

Integrating the multifactorial processes co-occurring in both physiological and pathological human conditions still remains one of the main challenges in translational investigation. Moreover, the impact of age-associated disorders has increased, which underlines the urgent need to find a feasible model that could help in the development of successful therapies. In this sense, the Octodon degus has been indicated as a ‘natural’ model in many biomedical areas, especially in ageing.

The weathering and deterioration of historical buildings, as well as that of many monuments or sculptures using natural stones, is a problem that has been known since antiquity. In this work, we have obtained an innovative waterborne coating made of silica-armored polymer particles. The synthetic approach aimed at maximizing the presence of the silica at the particle surface and its attachment to the polymer is discussed. The performance of the coating is evaluated in two natural building stones that have widely different porosities, Carrara marble and Lecce stone.